True Hobby Shops in Your Area?

There is a place in Itasca, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, called America's Best Train, Toy @ Hobby Shop. This place is a real "old school" hobby shop. Lionel trains, American Flyer trains, HO trains, Z scale trains. Jigsaw puzzels and all kinds of toys. Model kits and paints. There is stuff in boxes on the floor. There is stuff on the floor. My wife calls it a junk shop.

All kinds of plastic kits.

Paints of all kinds.

Toys for any kid.

Hundreds of train engines of all scales. 

New and vintage Lionel train stuff. A lot of the vintage stuff is in the original box.

Metal cars.

I have no idea what is in the hundreds of little compartments. But sombody must buy the stuff.

   Here at home, Spokane Wa. area we have Valley Trains, he has kit and railroad stuff, very friendly and willing to order. Up on the North side we have B& B Hobbies, a blend of RC and plastic, this place is amazing as you can go in 3 days a week and find something different....funny thing is their inventory reall doesn't rotate out that fast. Just a fun shop. Finalky we have the obligatory Hobbytown, good general coverage and polite staff, alittle pushy with sales however once they know ya they tend to keabe you alone.

    On the wet side in Ballard then the U district there was American Eagle, also had a shop in Tacoma. They have been OOB for years now but if they couldn't find or have it it wasn't made. Lastly Skyway Hobbies in Renton, a small well stocked hole in the wall hobby shop that is the " must go to" shop during the Seattle show. Emil has a TON of stuff, big scale OOP, new you name it.

When I was a kid, there was a local shop called Capt. Atomic Models and R/C that had a good selection of kits but they mainly focused on R/C. I also remember the Ben Franklin Hobby and Craft store about 2 hours away had an awesome selection of kits-complete, separate, rows dedicated to aircraft, ships, armor, and autos. They also had a large selection of paints, airbrushes, and finishing products. As well, they sold R/C kits and tons of model railroad stuff. They also sold the normal craft store stuff as well. It was truly an incredible store. I believe they were bought out by what is now Micheals and the focus shifted to more crafts and framing, etc…. Man, I liked that place-bought many a kit there as well as my first airbrush, a Badger 350.

There used to be quite a number of good hobby shops in the St. Louis area, where I'm from: Harter's Hobby House, Checkered Flag Hobbies, Astro Hobby (where I worked part-time for a while), etc.  Now they've all disappeared save for one, which happens to be one of the best brick-and-mortar shops still around: Mark Twain Hobby Center, in St. Charles, MO.  If you're ever passing through the St. Louis area, check 'em out, you won't be disappointed!

I miss Andys as I moved to Tucson, however we do have an Ace Hardware hobby shop with a nice selection who would have thought.

Had to drop my wife off at the Acura dealer for a loner car in Chevy Chase MD today.  I had a chance to visit one of my local hobby shops in Rockville, MD (Hobby Works).  Always love visiting the few true hobby shops in the DC area.  Vacationing in Newport RI in a few weeks.  instead of google search does anyone know a shop I can visit during my stay?

We have The Hobby Company in Pearl City and Weller's Hobbycraft in Kailua.

The Hobbietat in Palolo Valley is primarily RC and open ocean fishing gear, but they also carry a small selection of models.  They are the only shop here that has a reliable source of Evergreen sheet, strip and rod stock.  And they are glad to order stuff for you.  So glad I live in the area.

We also have several anime shops like Mini-Q that carry the Gundam stuff.  Their Pearl Ridge Shopping Center store has some armor and aircraft kits.  They also have a store in Mililani.

There are also wargaming stores like Armchair Adventurer and Other Realms in the downtown/Iwilei area.

So yeah, we are lucky that we have a number of hobby shops on the island. I'm not sure if there are any on the other islands though.  Maui had a good one back in the 1970s ( I bought an Airfix Stirling there), and you could easily find model kits wherever you went up until the 1980s.  Sadly that is not true anymore.

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hobby stores here died a slow death but a new place opened up called Hobby Sense.  Fully stocked and it is so great to be able to pick up kits, paints and more and not order by mail.

That said for all Canadians here, Hobby Sense has a great online shopping and he ships.

Cheers

ikar01

In Orlando we have a Hobby Lobby and Colonial Photo and Hobby, which is probably the only actual hobby shop in town that I know of.  There is another hobby shop outside of Sanford but I have never been there so I can't say what it's like.

 

Ikar, remember Orange Blossom Hobbies on 36 St In Miami? Pure hobby heaven!!

Yes I’m in the same area as you and the one in Sanford is Hobby Town which recently relocated to another strip mall. I was hoping for a better selection like they had before but unfortunately it’s mostly RC related and has VERY limited plastics. The last time I was at Colonial Photo and Hobby I found a good paint selection but very little stock of plastics.

My friend living near Ft. Lauderdale about 3 hours south of me has a hard time finding a hobby shop stocking a good selection of both plastics and paints. When I lived in that area prior to moving in 2007, there were 2 huge shops that carried a fantastic selection of anything plastic, paints, tools, airbrushes, am parts etc. One shop closed after the owner passed and his kids decided to sell the business. The other shop grew 3 times larger but gravitated to the RC field.

Hey Teenage modeler, I was going to mention that place. Pretty much grew up in Glenview and NB. Hobby Town is about the only place I can think of reasonably nearby.

There used to be a huge shop in Buffalo Grove I think it was. Alas they too closed up.

I have access to a so-so HobbyTown about 50 miles from me. They definitely cater more toward the RC hobby. The closest true hobby shop would be 100 miles away in Myrtle Beach. Ed's Hobby Shop. I highly recommend this place and I go every time I go to the beach!

Having said that, I do have a Hobby Lobby and a Michaels so If I get hard-up for a kit or if they are running a 40% sale I can always get something.

Tanker-Builder

    We have three in San Antonio. One specifically Train related. The other I don't know. The third is well stocked, But the same distance as the other two to get too. 45 Miles from here.( New Braunfels)

Is Dibble's still there?  I used to buy stuff there...geez, over 30 years ago!

disastermaster

Check here.....

I second this thread, which I started and DM so kindly added to.  I'm in the RTP area of NC and Hobbit is ~1hr from me, lots of stuff.  Otherwise, I'm looking mostly at mail order, since there are very few model stores left in this area!

tempestjohnny

Here in SW Florida there two real shops. Downtown Naples is Family Hobby. And in Ft Myers Beach is Victory Models. Plus Hobby Lobby Michaels

 

The lack of availability of kits & paints, glue etc. in neighbourhood shops is sad, and makes life difficult for those not near to a dedicated shop.  Pat, I agree with you about Hobbycraft, I have seen kits on sale there at prices above the recommended retail price.  So the internet suppliers can capitalise on this, and they do.

PatW

a few internet shops with a minimum of £3.95 shipping

In the UK, have a look online at Jadlam - prices include delivery & are still cheaper than RRP, however, they don't consolidate the delivery charge if you buy more than one kit (so they score there).  Time Tunnel Models can sometimes throw up a bargain, too.  These are my own observations, I don't have any connection to these suppliers.

I'm in the UK. There are no hobby shops in town. We have one Hobbycraft in Milton Keynes 15 miles away, it sells tons of crafting stuff, only Tamiya nad Airfix kits at high prices, a few paints and plastic tiny glue bottles. So there are a few internet shops with a minimum of £3.95 shipping, a lot for a couple of paint tins (Revell, Humbrol), that cost about £5 each. 

We also have one near Milton Keynes but it's only railways and RC planes/cars.

As a retiree on a limited budget I scour our ebay for 'already started kits' at a big discount. 

Here in SW Florida there two real shops. Downtown Naples is Family Hobby. And in Ft Myers Beach is Victory Models. Plus Hobby Lobby Michaels

Having been modeling since the late 60's I have seen many local places come and go. Now all of our "small town" hobby shops are G-O-N-E. Within driving distance we have the two large retail chains; HobbyLobby (15 minutes) and Hobbytown (1 hour).

While HobbyLobby is more of a craft store with a single isle for modeling, hobbytown is mostly RC (all kinds), scale trains, D&D and board gaming figures, a small radio shack area for electronics, and three short isles of models with another double sided isle for paints and supplies. 

I was at the Hobbytown yesterday and the paint selection was actually good. The model car selection was much smaller than that at HobbyLobby. Armor modeling was nicely represented and stocked with at least one of everything current from all the main manufacturers. Shipbuilding models were slim but there were still around 25 modern and classic rigged plastic ships. 

One issue I see with the large chain stores is the lack of speciality detail items. While local shops would normally serve the area modelers needs and requests, the large chains just carry the most popular kits. I have never seen photoetch, after-market decals, resin, and stuff like that at the larger stores. 

So now I will order the detail or after-market stuff through on-line suppliers. Some of the small web suppliers are not as reputable as others so caution must be exercised when ordering. The good thing is I can see what FSM or our forum members recommend regarding on-line vendors and use them to minimize the risks.

Without question, I really miss my local shops.

Ben

Yes, there is a real hobby shop a few miles away and a truly awesome hobby shop about 45-50 miles away in the city in which I work. The latter is one of those shops folks will drive several hours to visit and will spend hours there.

The former is much smaller and the owner has more collectable items like Battle Barbies and eBay type stuff than model kits. But he does have an extensive amount of hobby supplies at a premium price.

And there's a Hobby Lobby around the corner, for what it's worth.

ikar01

 

ajlafleche

 

 Doesn't your quote presppose that the women are even looking for you in the first place?

 

Do a web search on "Red Green", ikar01.

Ok. My experience in Oz is not going to be everybodys overhere. I live in a small fishing village in the far east of the state of Victoria. Wehave a toystore in Bairnsdale, 45 mins. away. They have very little of anything. The nearest decent hobby shop is in Box Hill, 3and a half hours drive. Then there are a couple in the city of Melbourne, 4 hours drive. However, after a recent trip to Melbourne, I'll stick to ordering online. Most of what they catered for was leggo and RC.

I also listen to the "Model Geeks" podcast and they are great.  All of these modeling podcasts have been a blessing during these most "unusual" times.   

Well first off here in southern Maryland we have a terrific model club.  4 of the members have a weekly podcast called The Model Geeks.  Hobby shops in the area are Star Hobby in Annapolis, Md about an hour drive From me.  Theres also two Hobby Works one in Rockville the other in Laurel Md.  Both those shops are roughly an hour too.  

First off, I want to remind modelers that when I was a kid stores like Kmart, Shopko, Prange-Way, Woolworths, and Kresge's carried large selections of kits on their shelves.  You could also ride your bike down to the "Five & Dime" store or a drug store and get a kit, granted they were usuallly Lindberg or possibly Aurora kits, but model kits were sold everywhere back then. Presently, We have one Hobby Town in my community of Oshkosh, WI and the owner owns another one in Appleton which is 17 miles away.  Both stores have a good selection and will order things for you.  They also offered curbside pickup during the lockdown which I greatly appreciated.  Seventeen miles south of Oshkosh there is a little "Ma & Pa" hobby store named Focus.  So tight you have to turn sideways to squeeze down the aisles.  Surprisingly, they tend to have some current releases on their shelves whenever I stop in.  I agree about the importance of these brick and morter shops. It's part of the "modeling experience" to browse and actually hold the kit in your hands and to be able to talk "shop" with someone about the hobby.  As I get older and have time to reflect, I've come to realize that I do miss the "good ole" days sometimes.

I wasn't sure if colonial was still open. I use to make it a point to stop in there when I went up that way {disney ;-)} It was one of the last places that had the Gunze Aqueous paint, before they started remaking them. I remember they had a pretty good selection. Thanks!

ajlafleche

Doesn't your quote presppose that the women are even looking for you in the first place?

Got a Ryders 45 minutes to the west and Deans in Owosso about an hour east.

Next closest are a couple hours. 

Bobstamp

Vancouver scale modellers (and RC types) have Magic Box Hobbies in the neighbourhood of Kerrisdale, about a 15 minute drive or a 45 minute bus ride from downtown Vancouver. It's quite a large store with a very friendly staff. I usually deal with Wendy, who is apparently and exceptionally knowledgeable. The store is currently redesigning its website (http://www.magicboxhobbies.ca) so that won't be of much use at this time.

There is one other hobby shop that I know of, in the suburb of Burnaby. Perhaps another FineScale member can comment on that one.

Bob

LOL, you beat me to it. This is my go to LHS as I am lucky to live nearby. Agree that Wendy is a quite knowledgeable. She helped me find some paints, compared different manufacturers etc. 

There was another store on Broadway but it closed long time ago. 

There is a (very) small model shop in the nearby city centre, (20 minutes' ride on the Metro) with a pretty good range of kits, also catering for collectable diecasts & toys, but nowhere near enough room to display the stock properly.  The range of paints etc is limited, but if I need something it's worth asking, as they often do have what I'm after, just not on show.

The best, much bigger, option is the North East Model Centre, about 20 miles from where I live.  It's a converted church with a good amount of floor space, several rows of shelves, and provides a very good range of plastic kits, model railway stuff, R/C, scenics, tools, and paints from Tamiya, Humbrol, Vallejo, Ammo by Mig, AK, and probably others I've missed.  The basement (formerly the crypt?) has quite recently been refurbished & holds kits of spacecraft, cars, trucks, bikes, plus wargaming & fantasy games supplies. There is usually a 10% discount on Tamiya kits, and other special offers from time to time.

It's also a few yards from a decent pub that serves good food & ale to refresh the weary shopper!

There's also a branch of Hobbycraft about 5 or 6 miles from home, which I imagine is something similar to Hobby Lobby in the States.  It carries a modest range of kits, and paints & glues from Tamiya & Humbrol.  There are also useful goodies like cutting mats & other tools, balsa wood etc.  Most of the shop is given over to other crafts - painting, greeting card making, needlecraft, artisan baking, and loads of stuff for kids to stick to other stuff (and, probably, each other).

Back in the Seventies, there were five or six shops in the city centre which sold models, plus two dedicated model shops which catered for every need, and every neighbourhood newsagents' shop or general store stocked a few Airfix kits at pocket-money prices - ah, happy days!

We have a couple old-school local hobby shops here in the Lehigh Valley.  They're nice to have, but really not necessary, today, with the Internet.  Not the way it was when we Boomers were kids.  The local hobby shop, that everyone pictures in nostalgic, sepia-colored tones, really was a product of that time.